I special ordered a Drag Specialties carb support bracket and 7" chrome air cleaner. The included foam air cleaner is a piece of garbage so I bought a K&N 6"X2.5" element. Not only are the Drag Specialties items made in Taiwan but the holes that cover the holes in the heads for the crankcase breather are way off. Not to mention the "chrome" that I can flake off with my thumbnail. I had to put the O.E. spam can filter back on as there were huge (1/8") air gaps in several places like where the air cleaner bracket is supposed to attach to the carb support bracket. Did I mention that the Drag Specialties pieces are made in Taiwan? The welds suck, the plate that the air cleaner element is supposed to sit on is warped. The overall quality is at the utter garbage level. I contacted Drag Specialties regarding this and was essentially blown off. Don't make the mistake I did! Avoid their junk! By the way, the K&N element is a quality product. I am looking for the old school type air cleaner look with a round chrome cover. Can anyone here recomment an aftermarket air cleaner, carb support bracket and crank/head breather setup? Also, do I have to rejet my carb after such a swap? My ride is a 2003 XL883 Sportster.

 

If the engine is drawing in more air, you do need to rejet to balance the air/fuel mixture. Thanks for the tip. I find it odd that they gypped you like that seeing as Vance & Hines (I think) does all their deliveries via them. Hmm. Well, I got my Fuelpak from the local dealer, so I really didn't deal with them directly.

Thanks for the tip, though.

 

I haven't bought any Drag items since the late 80's. I thought that their quality was slipping even then.

 

Sounds like it sould at least be exchanged. I have only made one purchace, a DS seat which I have been quite happy with. I would contact them agian an give them a chance to make it right.

 

Sorry you were not satisfied.

You don't think this was a fluke? Are you certain DS sucks across the board? Hard to make a convincing argument based on a single event. It's far more likely what you experienced was an exception and not indicative of daily operations.

Of course this will cause others to post about how they were screwed by DS. But being the vocal minority does not make it any more of a legitimate claim. They do a lot of business. They don't do so because they suck. That business model (sucking) generally doesn't work well in practice.

 

Well, this is the only Drag Specialties product I've everbought and it will be the last! I said "avoid their junk" as a warning so that otherswont go through what I justdid with them. If they sell anything that isn't made in Taiwan I will reconsiderthis post. From now on I'll stick with Arlen Ness, Screaming Eagle, K&N or someone else on that level.If you don't work forDrag Specialtiesin some capacity and you're serious I'll posta picture of everythingfrom both kits, laid out, so you can see that the T-fitting, brackets, banjo bolts, air cleaner screw,etc. are so flawed and rough thatyou couldn't possiblysay that it's the equivalent of Harley Davidson or any of the top shelf aftermarket brands.

post script - Tell you what,IF Drag Specialtiesagrees toexchange these kits, and IF the replacements are of at least O.E. quality then I'll let you know. As it stands now I wouldn't put this kit on my lawnmower.

 

Post some pics if you don't mind. I and a few other guys I ride with all have the breather carb support bracket kit. I can't imagin the bracket holes not lining up with the heads though unless you got the wrong bracket......the brackets for the non sporty engines look the same but the head spacing is different. Anyhow I also have the DS dragtron II a/c on mine. And everythign fit perfectly, even adapted well when I switched to a mikuni carb a few months later. Can't bitch too much about it comming with a foam filter though, it's whats keeps their cost down.....and harley does the same.....from what I hear all the screamin' eagle kits now use the high flow paper filters now, instead of having K&N filters like they used to. And although the foam filter is cheap, they do perform just fine and do the job.

 

I was looking at replacing my SE paper filter with the drop in drag filter as K&N doesn't make one that fits the SE for 2005 sportsters yet, what are peoples opinions on these...? before I drop $65

 

I went with the arlen ness big sucker and chrome air cover, kept it simple with smooth round cover, no billet, I really like the old school look, and was impressed with what I read here about it. I wanted power first though, not just looks.I like J and P cycles for many items, and went with them for this one, and their service was great. Shipping a bit high, but they got me the stuff quick. I thought Drag Specialties was a bit pricey myself for a lot of things. Sonn as I can ill post a pic of it.

 

here we go just took me a bit on how to do this


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